WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chesapeake Bay Task Force Co-Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) issued the following statement today after the Trump Administration announced a plan to significantly expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic, including in permanently protected areas:

“The Trump Administration’s decision to dramatically expand offshore drilling ignores the risks that drilling poses to local ecosystems and economies. This plan will put the profits of Big Oil and Gas ahead of the jobs and livelihoods of hardworking Americans – including millions of Marylanders who depend on the health and vitality of the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal watersheds. The decision also cuts against the bipartisan opposition to drilling in the Atlantic Ocean – at the local, state and federal levels across several states along the east coast.

“The plan to expand offshore drilling comes on the heels of a Trump Administration announcement last week that it will roll back critical protections put in place after the devastating Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I am deeply alarmed that this administration has turned a blind eye toward the risks of offshore drilling, and I will continue to fight back against this dangerous proposal.”